Easy Fundraising for Public Libraries

An Infopeople Online Learning Course

Do you need some easy-to-implement fundraising strategies? Bake sales may be good for increasing waistlines, but they are not always worth the effort for the sometimes minimal increase in revenue. You need to use your valuable time and resources wisely.

In this course, you will discover successful strategies for raising funds that you can implement immediately. You'll explore sponsorships, social media and other online appeals, easy grant opportunities, fundraising events and "non-events." During the course, as you develop your quick fundraising plan, you'll learn about:

Who to ask and why they will give to your library

Advocacy conversations and "friendraising"

Shortcuts to writing easy grant proposals

We'll also cover the nitty-gritty details of fundraising legalities and the importance of policies and procedures. Soon you will be ready to fundraise and "friendraise" while gaining community support and promoting your library.

Course Description: Through assignments, discussions, and an online meeting, you'll learn quick and easy fundraising ideas you can implement immediately. Through these interactive forums, you'll be able to share experiences and get answers to your fundraising questions. You'll be able to apply the concepts learned to gain community support and promote your library while raising funds. The instructor will help you find easy grants to apply for and shortcuts to save time in writing your proposals. You'll wrap up your fundraising planning with communication strategies and action steps to put you on the path to fundraising success. When you complete the course, you'll be excited, motivated, and ready with the knowledge needed to fundraise the easy way.

Course Outline: When you log in to the Infopeople online learning site, you will see weekly modules with these topics:

Week 1: Making the Ask

If you don't ask, you won't get.

What should you ask for? How to determine needs and prioritize resources.

Pre-course Assignment: To gain maximum benefit from this course, identify a special goal, need, or project for which to develop a fundraising plan during the course.

Time Required: To complete this course, you can expect to spend 2½ hours per week, for a total of ten course hours. Each week's module contains readings and various options for assignments, discussions, interviews, and online meetings. You can choose the options most relevant to your work and interests. Although you can work on each module at your own pace, at any hour of the day or night, it is recommended that you complete each week's work within that week to stay in sync with other learners.

Who Should Take This Course: Library staff who want to learn about easy fundraising strategies. The course will also benefit library Friends, foundation members, volunteers, and anyone interested in helping libraries with easy fundraising.

After the official end date for the course, the instructor will be available for limited consultation and support for two more weeks, and the course material will stay up for an additional two weeks after that. These extra weeks give those who have fallen behind time to work independently to complete the course.

You must be signed in to register.

Material on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Infopeople is supported by the U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act, administered in California by the State Librarian.